by Steph Bowe
Publisher: Text Publishing, 2025
Review
by Robyn Pryor
Imagine zombies, humans reincarnated as robots, and biological warfare, and you’ll have an inkling of Sunny at the End of the World. I was mesmerised by the first sentence: Three days after the outbreak, my parents and I discussed exactly how we would kill each other. Talk about thrown into the action straight up.
From there, I was transported back to my youth, a most pleasurable experience. This story is packed with everything that young adults (and many adults) love – zombies, robots, and heroes, with good and evil characters scattered amongst them all. Steph Bowe gave us lessons in humanity, friendship, and courage in a thrilling, fast-paced, yet playful way. The varied points of view and two timelines enriched the story, while still making it easy to follow.
After experiencing Covid, I read Sunny at the End of the World from a philosophical perspective. Steph encapsulated the fear, isolation, and prejudice, plus the adjustment to a new way of life, that most of us experienced. And the amazing thing is, she wrote it before any of us had even heard of Covid.
When I read Steph’s bio, I felt an affinity with her. At the fresh age of 25, she passed away after battling a rare form of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I was diagnosed with blood cancer thirteen years ago, but was lucky enough to receive a bone marrow transplant. If only Steph had the same opportunity. But she will live on through her literary works. She achieved many literary milestones, including the Express Media Award for outstanding achievement by a writer under 25. She was an inspiration at Writer’s Festivals and a School Ambassador. In her short time, Steph lived a literary life that many authors only dream of.
If Steph could’ve seen this fabulous story published with its wonderful cover, she would have been proud. She has left a legacy for other young readers and writers, not only of great literature, but also dreams and possibilities.
Regarding quality of writing, Sunny at the End of the World is no exception to Steph’s brilliance. Any young adult and many adults who enjoy an exciting read with an amazing twist will love this novel. Do yourself a favour and buy it for yourself and any fun-loving young adult in your life.
Publisher’s blurb
In 2018, seventeen-year-old Sunny and Toby are on the run after zombies have destroyed most of the adults in their world. Cut to 2034 when Sunny is being held in an underground facility. What happened? Was it aliens, a conspiracy, a simulation, biological terrorism, or a totalitarian takeover? And who can infiltrate the facility and release the surviving prisoners? The tables will be turned more than once in this thrilling and thought-provoking novel.
With Steph Bowe’s sad passing at the age of 25 in 2020, we lost a truly wonderful author of three smart, funny YA novels. Her mother and sister discovered a manuscript on her computer: the book you have in your hands. Steph was always wise beyond her years, with the power to access other worlds. Somehow, in Sunny at the End of the World, she predicted an ‘outbreak’ much like the one that changed our world, after she was gone…With her trademark humour, endearing characters, and brilliant storytelling, Steph Bowe has left us a novel that helps to make sense of the rapidly changing world we live in.